Author-illustrator John Hendrix brings his considerable talents to this nonfiction graphic exploration of the German resistance during World War II and the fascinating story of theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer, a double agent who played a role in the failed plot to kill Hitler, was hanged by the Nazis on April 9, 1945, just weeks before the end of the war.

Through black-and-white hand-lettering along with teal, red and black illustrations, Hendrix provides historical context of the post-World War I factors that led to the Nazis’ assumption of power in 1933. Ample white space allows readers to move easily from frame to frame without being overwhelmed by colors. The intensity is already there, of course, in the story itself. In the back matter, Hendrix modestly disavows being a scholar, but The Faithful Spy provides just the right amount of historical information while simultaneously hooking readers on Bonhoeffer’s tragic journey. Direct quotations are flagged with an asterisk, allowing curious readers to trace sources in the notes.

The Faithful Spy is exactly the kind of accessible, innovative page turner sure to entice new readers to the graphic format and the burgeoning genre of middle grade nonfiction. Truly a tour de force.

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Novels that blend history with imaginative fantasy are particularly hard to pull off and particularly special when they’re written just right. Jonathan Auxier’s Sweep definitely falls into the latter category, as this accomplished storyteller combines Victorian labor history and Jewish mythology for an unforgettable tale of a friendship that transcends time and place.

Nan Sparrow is the best chimney sweep London has seen in a generation. She learned from the best, having been tutored by her kindly guardian known only as the Sweep. But the Sweep has been gone for years, and Nan is now in thrall to a cruel master with little regard for his young charge’s well-being. Although Nan is smart and creative, she can’t imagine a different future until she finds herself cleaning the chimneys at a girls’ school and a teacher recognizes her potential.

But then Nan becomes trapped in the school’s narrow chimney, risking being burned alive on the job. That moment of crisis, however, brings to life the Sweep’s last gift to Nan, a kindly soot golem named Charlie who transforms her life.

Auxier’s melding of fiction and fact—much of which is explained in an author’s note—will inspire readers to learn more about the sources behind this tale. But what will ring truest for readers of all ages is the novel’s emotional core: “We save ourselves by saving others.” This message of generosity and compassion changes Nan’s life and will touch young readers, too.

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Children's Top Pick, October 2018

The inimitable M.T. Anderson has teamed up with award-winning author and illustrator Eugene Yelchin for The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge—which is not quite a graphic novel but far more than your traditional illustrated middle grade book. Yelchin’s wonderfully quirky drawings fill entire chapters without any accompanying text. Other times, they supplement Anderson’s pithy prose or directly contradict it. Such is the inventive world of this wry, rollicking and totally refreshing take on cultural contact and conflict—in this case, between elves and goblins.

Having been at war for as far back as their histories stretch, elves and goblins are sworn enemies, but they’ve entered a period of tenuous peace. In stumble Brangwain Spurge and Werfel (an odd couple if there ever was one), two historians who are more at home in dusty libraries than at the center of the historical stage. Spurge, a pompous elf, has been selected by his government to return an ancient relic to the goblin overlord as a peace offering. Werfel, a gracious and endearing goblin, is tasked with playing cultural emissary to his elfin peer.

Werfel soon realizes that Spurge has no interest in anything that might change his view of goblins as uncultured brutes. Between Spurge’s prejudice and Werfel’s deep sense of hospitality—which requires him to appease his guest as well as protect him with his life—hilarity ensues.

A brilliant, satirical take on cultural chauvinism, objectivity and war and peace, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge is witty, wise and wondrously unique.

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Felix Knutsson has a lot to worry about. His mother, Astrid, can’t find or keep a job, and the duo have been living in a van for months after being evicted from their Vancouver apartment. It’s a tough life for young Felix, especially since he doesn’t feel like he can share his dire situation with any of his friends from school.

Still, life with no fixed address isn’t all bad. While Astrid struggles with occasional bouts of depression referred to as “slumps,” she is a loving mother who is trying her best to provide for her son. Felix has a beloved pet gerbil and a good-luck troll, does well in school, makes good friends and has a huge interest in trivia. He even manages to win a slot on the junior edition of his favorite game show, “Who What Where When.”

At almost every turn, however, the state of Felix’s “residence” comes into question by the Canadian Ministry of Children and Family Development. Felix’s luck soars after he wins the game show’s substantial cash prize, but his world soon threatens to implode when he finds himself in the police station with his mother shortly after. The good and bad intermingle at the end, leaving Felix to learn the true meaning of kindness and to discover that homelessness doesn’t have to mean hopelessness.

Author Susin Nielsen weaves humor and heart into No Fixed Address while highlighting struggles that are often swept under the rug. Through Felix, Nielsen shows readers what it takes to carry on.

This article was originally published in the September 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Twelve-year-old Cassidy Blake is an unusual girl. A book nerd and a bit of a loner, she nearly drowned when she was younger, only to be rescued at the last minute by a boy her age named Jacob. Only Jacob isn’t a typical boy: He’s a ghost, and Cassidy’s near-death experience has given her the ability to cross the Veil and enter a world where she can see and speak to the dead. When Cassidy’s parents, a team of historical and supernatural researchers, take a summer job in Edinburgh, Scotland, Cassidy and Jacob tag along. But Edinburgh is a city full of creepy graveyards, haunted castles and the Raven—a malicious ghost who lures children to their deaths.

Cassidy cannot ignore the pull of the Veil or the Raven, and when she meets another girl who can also see the dead, Cassidy discovers that she’s supposed to send the ghosts away. But what does that mean for Jacob? And when the Raven comes after Cassidy, will she have the strength to fight back, or will she become a spirit herself?

Although City of Ghosts is Victoria Schwab’s first foray into middle grade fiction, the bestselling author of adult fiction and young adult titles like Vicious is squarely in her wheelhouse. The Scottish setting is authentic and chilling, likely drawn from Schwab’s experience attending graduate school in Edinburgh. Schwab cleverly balances the book’s macabre elements with humor. Jacob is a charming sidekick, and as a ghost, he is the bright light of this tale.

Hopefully, there are more adventures for Cassidy and Jacob in store, as readers will be clamoring for a sequel.

This article was originally published in the September 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

A lot can happen in 24 hours—unless you live in Nowhere, Arizona, the least-livable town in the United States, where nothing ever happens. However, the town’s reputation changes one summer evening when young Gus is rescued by Rossi Scott, just as the bully Bo Taylor is about to make him eat a jumping cholla—a very spiny cactus. In Dusti Bowling’s 24 Hours in Nowhere, this one small act sets off a chain reaction of events that will keep Gus, Rossi and Bo very busy—at least for the next 24 hours.

Rossi was able to rescue Gus, but he pulled it off at the expense of Loretta, her prized dirt bike. Resolute, Gus confronts Bo and learns that to get Loretta back, he’ll have to trade one piece of gold from Dead Frenchman’s Mine. Gus is determined to find the gold and get Rossi’s bike back before her big race the next day, and so he gathers up some new friends, and the four venture into the mine. What they find there is more than they ever could have imagined.

24 Hours in Nowhere is fast-paced and filled with adventure, excitement and humor. Each character contributes to the main plot while also carrying a story of their own. This is a perfect pick for young readers who love a well-developed story with twists and turns all the way to the very end.

This article was originally published in the September 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

When Emily’s sister Holly died, she was buried with her beloved teddy bear, Bluey. Emily had entertained Holly throughout her short life with wonderful imaginings of Bluey’s adventures set in the fantasy world of Smockeroon. All of the stories about Bluey now seem lost to Emily—until the night something fantastic happens.

Emily discovers talking stuffed animals in Holly’s empty room and learns that they had once belonged to the son of Emily’s neighbor, a teen who died many years earlier. The toys speak of their world—the same world as Emily’s own imagined Smockeroon!—and describe it as a place where abandoned toys live and play with their deceased human owners. After hearing this, Emily becomes obsessed with the idea of connecting with Bluey in Smockeroon. She hopes that Bluey can connect her to Holly once again.

Emily’s interactions with the toys are charmingly portrayed. Even though 11-year-old Emily has just begun secondary school and is a bit old for toys, she is still child enough to thrill at their animated existence. British author Kate Saunders realistically portrays the arc of grief—from Emily’s initial unbearable longing to her reckless pursuit of Bluey—until she is finally willing to let the toys go. In an afterword, Saunders recounts the loss of her own son and the process of resurrecting his old toys through this novel. The Land of Neverendings is a sweet, funny story that will appeal to readers poised on the brink of separation from childhood toys, as well as those journeying through the grief process.

Kali Wallace’s City of Islands transports readers to a world of ancient rock cities where the ocean-dwelling founders once harnessed magic that controlled earth and stone, sky and sea.

Twice orphaned Mara longs to be part of that magic. She dives to the depths of the ocean seeking treasure for a mage known as the Lady of the Tides.

One day while diving, Mara sings an old spell song and hears bones calling back to her. She finds skeletons of rare hybrid creatures suspended deep below the ocean surface. When she presents these prized remains to the Lady of the Tides, the mage challenges her with a dangerous but alluring opportunity. Mara must travel to a place called Winter Blade in order to discover the secrets of the Lord of the Muck, the powerful mage inhabiting the treacherous isle. If Mara succeeds, she’ll become the Lady’s apprentice and fulfill her dream to learn magic.

As Mara struggles through the dark depths of the tunnels beneath Winter Blade, she’s captured by the evil Muck. She must escape the mage’s dungeon and save herself and her friends, Izzy and Fish Hook, from being tortured and killed. But with seas full of mages, pirates and sea serpents, how will the seemingly ordinary Mara succeed?

While struggling to free herself and her friends, Mara is forced to question her past: How did her parents really die? Was her stepmother the loving caretaker she seemed?

Wallace uses fantastical creatures, mystical spell songs and lyrical prose to spin a complex tale that doesn’t disappoint. Young readers will long for more stories like this spellbinding saga of the sea.

We’ve all heard news reports about refugees fleeing their homes for any number of reasons in search of a better life. And for most of us, once the news report ends, so do our thoughts about their lives. But Illegal does something special—it forces readers to stop and consider the humanity of the people who are so often portrayed as mere statistics.

Twelve-year-old Ebo is determined to make it out of his poor village in Ghana. His older sister and brother have already fled, so Ebo decides to slip away and risk everything to cross the Sahara Desert and the unforgiving sea in hopes of making it to Europe. More of Ebo’s history is revealed through flashbacks as the narrative jumps between his current situation—floating helplessly on a slowly deflating life raft—and the pivotal moments of his life in Ghana.

With Illegal, writers Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl) and Andrew Donkin—along with award-winning illustrator Giovanni Rigano—have created a gripping account of a 21st-century refugee’s experience. This vivid, powerful graphic novel, drawn from original interviews with undocumented immigrants, asks the reader to take in someone else’s plight, and then leaves them with a new sense of empathy, understanding and compassion.

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

When facing the deep mysteries of life, many cling to beliefs they’ve acquired secondhand, but not Toaff, the precocious gray squirrel at the heart of Newbery Medalist Cynthia Voigt’s absorbing new novel, Toaff’s Way.

Why do dogs bark? Why do gray and red squirrels fear and hate one another? Brimming with questions and unbridled energy, Toaff bounds into the world to seek his answers firsthand. Whether Toaff is learning the language of dogs or delighting in the songs that human mothers sing to their babies, every day brings a new revelation. On his journey, Toaff learns that the fears that keep most of his peers huddled in their dens are largely illusory. Of course, Toaff’s insatiable curiosity lands him in some rather tight spots, and more often than not, it also makes an outcast of him. But in the end, his curiosity and genuine openness allow him to wiggle out of danger.

Both intriguing and enlightening, Voigt’s squirrel-eye view of the world shows us how even the most mundane things can be revelatory. A hymn to inquisitiveness, independent thinking and experiential learning in an age of “alternative facts” and “fake news,” Toaff’s Way should be required reading.

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

From the author of the Thickety series comes this chilling tale of sneaky witches and captured children.

Late one night, a boy named Alex heads out into the darkened hallways of his apartment building. His objective is to get to the basement and destroy his “nightbooks” in the furnace. He calls them this because he has spent countless hours recording his scariest nightmares and spooky stories in their pages. Alex prizes his imagination, but it’s also the thing that sets him apart from his peers. And when you’re a kid, being different isn’t always a good thing. Alex hopes that destroying his stories will help him fit in, but what he doesn’t expect is a detour that will lead him into the heart of the scariest story he’s ever faced.

Captured by a witch, Alex must tell her a scary story each night, and these stories provide an extra layer of fun and thrills, while never venturing so dark in tone as to be too intense for younger readers. At its core, J.A. White’s Nightbooks is a testament to the power of storytelling and friendship. The steady development of Alex’s friendship with his fellow captives is touching and well-paced, and the multifaceted characterization of the villain is refreshing. With a good blend of fast-paced fantasy and poignant emotion, Nightbooks is sure to please almost any reader, and it might even give them a few tips on how to craft their own stories along the way.

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In Cindy Baldwin’s big-hearted debut novel, Where the Watermelons Grow, everything seems to be going wrong for 12-year-old Della Kelly. There’s currently a summer drought in her town of Maryville, North Carolina, which is bad news for the Kelly family farm―even their beloved watermelons are dying on the vine. But what worries Della the most is the fact that her mother’s schizophrenia is flaring up for the first time in four years, leaving her unable to function, much less care for Della’s 16-month-old sister, Mylie.

Della can’t help feeling that her mother’s illness is her fault, since her symptoms appeared soon after Della was born. Feeling that it’s up to her to not only to help, but cure, her mother, she seeks out Tabitha Quigley, a local beekeeper whose family’s honey seems to hold magical cures. But Miss Tabitha doesn’t offer the cure that Della yearns for, leaving her feeling more isolated and helpless than ever.

Baldwin’s portrait of a strong, loving family facing a mental health crisis is nuanced, sensitive and believable. Although Della can’t bear to confide her worries in her best friend, both she and her father slowly realize they can’t keep their problems to themselves.

One of the great strengths of this book is that Baldwin offers plenty of hope but no easy fixes. Della learns invaluable lessons and realizes she has strengths she never imagined along with supportive family and friends who are ready to help. And most of all she learns that “No sickness in the world could make my mama’s love for us less real.”

Where the Watermelons Grow is a spot-on, insightful novel about a preteen learning to live with and accept a parent’s mental illness.

In Samantha M. Clark’s debut, a young boy awakens on the shore of a deserted island: He knows that he’s not safe and has nowhere to take shelter, but he can’t recall his name or how he arrived. He’s also not aware that a silent narrator is watching and awaiting his every move. Hoping to find safety, and perhaps even rescuers, the boy sets out on a journey along the island’s surrounding line of trees. With only a blanket for armor, he pretends to be a knight as he tries to protect some of the island’s small creatures and outrun a scary, green-eyed wolf. But a bullying voice inside the boy’s head constantly reminds him that he’s just a coward and constantly chides, how can a coward be a knight, protect others or even save himself?

The mysterious island slowly seems to provide the boy with clues to his identity, such as his mother’s singing, visions of his little brother, fabric scraps and pink tiles. Piecing together his past is a puzzle for the boy and readers alike. In the process, his journey across the island becomes a modern-day allegory of the powers of fear, resilience and hope. It’s not until the haunting end that the boy, and readers, finally learns how he came to the island and a difficult choice he must make regarding his fate. While The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast can be a quick read, this debut novel should be savored for its atmospheric setting, ominous tension and the beautiful way it brings light to the darker parts of childhood.